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Hepatitis C virus antibodies in chronic liver diseases of different aetiology
A Craxi1, P Almasio, V Di Marco
1Clinica Medica R, Università di Palermo, Italy.
Insights
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is common in Southern Italy among patients with unexplained or autoimmune chronic liver disease. Risk factors like blood exposure and drug use are key, but family history and disease severity showed no link to HCV.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Chronic liver disease (CLD) encompasses various etiologies, including viral infections.
- Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a significant cause of chronic liver disease globally.
- Understanding HCV prevalence in specific patient groups is crucial for diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection in patients with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis of any cause.
- To investigate the association between HCV infection and different etiologies of chronic liver disease in Southern Italy.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 372 patients with biopsy-proven chronic liver disease was tested for anti-HCV antibodies.
- Exclusion criteria included active drug addiction and alcoholism.
- Data on parenteral exposure, HBV status, and demographic factors were collected.
Main Results:
- HCV infection was highly prevalent in patients with cryptogenic (71.7%) and autoimmune (66.7%) chronic liver disease.
- Among non-drug-addicted HBsAg positive subjects, anti-HCV positivity was low (4.7%).
- Parenteral exposure was strongly associated with anti-HCV positivity (89.2%).
Conclusions:
- HCV infection is widespread in Southern Italy, particularly in cryptogenic and autoimmune chronic liver disease.
- Parenteral exposure and previous drug addiction are significant risk factors for HCV infection.
- HCV status did not correlate with liver disease severity or age in most subgroups.
Abstract:
To define the prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection in patients with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis of any aetiology, we tested a group of 372 consecutive subjects with biopsy-proven chronic liver disease (CLD) for anti-HCV antibodies, excluding active drug-addicts and alcoholics. Our results show that in Southern Italy HCV infection is widespread among subjects with cryptogenic chronic liver disease, as well as in liver diseases with features of autoimmunity (71.7% and 66.7% anti-HCV positive, respectively). Anti-HCV is infrequent among non drug-addicted HBsAg positive subjects (4.7%), and bears no relation to hepatitis D superinfection. Subjects with CLD and a history of parenteral exposure are almost always anti-HCV positive (89.2%). Patients with HBV-related CLD and previous drug-addicts are on the average younger than other disease groups, irrespective of their HCV status. Among subjects whose CLD is related to parenteral exposure, cryptogenic or autoimmune no increase in the rate of anti-HCV positivity seems to bear a parallel relationship to age. No known risk factor for parenteral transmission, other than use of blood or blood products and previous drug-addiction, can be clearly related to HCV infection. No trend to familiar clustering of HCV-induced liver disease is apparent. Liver disease severity, as assessed by transaminase levels and liver histology, does not correlate to anti-HCV status.